405: Chapter 405 Fight or Escape

Xipo Village.

Liu Cheng's home.

Liu Cheng and Huang Jianshe sat opposite each other. The table was laden with dishes and two bottles of fine liquor, yet neither had taken a single bite or a single sip. The atmosphere was eerily silent.

After a long time.

Liu Cheng picked up his glass and drained it in one gulp. "Tell me, what should we do?"

Huang Jianshe said in a muffled voice, "What can we do? I told you long ago not to provoke him, but you didn't listen."

"Who could have thought his strength would improve so fast? He wasn't this powerful the last time I saw him."

"Hmph, not this powerful? That's because you weren't worth him using his serious methods. Any casual move of his was enough."

"Let's flee."

"Are you willing to abandon the foundation we built here?"

"It's better than losing our lives. I have no confidence in withstanding that heaven-shaking sword strike," Liu Cheng said, a look of deep fear flashing in his eyes.

Huang Jianshe fell silent as well.

That sword strike was indeed too astonishing.

No, not just astonishing.

It was earth-shattering.

In Huang Jianshe's social circles, never mind Quancheng—practitioners across the entire Lu Province and even the East and North China regions were thoroughly terrified.

Although some refused to believe it was real, most remained silent, not even daring to comment for fear of attracting Han Jingyang's attention. If Han Jingyang felt slightly displeased and swung his sword again, they had no confidence they could survive it.

One sword to cleave the heavens!

Han Jingyang's strike hadn't just split the night sky that evening.

It had split open the very sky of the metaphysics world for him.

Before that, Han Jingyang was just a rising star with a bit of fame in Quancheng.

But after that strike, Han Jingyang was an expert who ranked among the best in the metaphysics world.

One couldn't say for sure if he was in the top five, but even the most powerful individuals had no confidence in withstanding that strike of his.

Consequently, people in the Jianghu were now secretly discussing exactly how many such strikes Han Jingyang could unleash.

Some guessed two.

Some guessed four or five.

Some guessed there was no limit.

And some even guessed he couldn't do it again at all.

Yet even the boldest only dared to speculate; if asked to actually test Han Jingyang, they would each flee faster than the last.

They were just there for the spectacle and weren't willing to risk their lives to probe Han Jingyang's depths.

Furthermore, the combat power Han Jingyang displayed afterward was also quite formidable. Even without using that heaven-cleaving strike, the vast majority of people were no match for him.

Especially after the surveillance footage of Han Jingyang using sword qi to kill Huang Zhiyun and the others circulated this morning, those in the Jianghu who had been slightly restless all backed down.

Sword God Possession.

It sounded domineering.

In reality, it was even more so.

He was not to be trifled with.

This was the common attitude held by the Jianghu and metaphysics circles toward Han Jingyang's sudden rise.

Not to be trifled with.

If he couldn't be trifled with, then don't provoke him. Stay as far away as possible. If you really can't avoid him, greet him with a smile. In short, just don't offend him.

Others could greet him with a smile.

But Liu Cheng and Huang Jianshe had no such option. They had already offended Han Jingyang. Only two paths lay before them: flee or fight.

Flee?

Fleeing offered a chance, but once they left, the business they had built up over years of seclusion in Xipo Village would be completely gone. It would be equivalent to abandoning all their past efforts and achievements to start a new life in a strange place.

Start over?

At their age, where would they get another chance to start over?

Fight?

How was that any different from seeking death?

They were silent for a long time again.

Liu Cheng downed another glass: "Let's give it a shot."

"A shot?"

"Yes. At worst, we die. Anyway, I've lived most of my life. Although I haven't enjoyed much, the things we've done and the miraculous existences we've witnessed are things others can't even imagine. It's not a loss, right?"

Huang Jianshe nodded heavily: "Then let's give it a shot. At worst, we die. After my brother died, I was fully prepared mentally."

"Hehehe, you're really not afraid of death?"

"Of course not. If I were afraid, I would have sold you out to Han Jingyang long ago. He wanted me to be his mole, after all."

"I know that, of course," Liu Cheng took a deep breath. "In the entire Xipo Village, there is nothing I don't know. Everything is within my sight."

"Hmph, it's not just your ability alone."

"I don't need you to tell me that. But seriously, if we go all out for one final gamble, we might just have a chance."

"You think there's a chance?"

Liu Cheng nodded: "We know Han Jingyang's background—at least a large part of it—but he knows nothing about us. As long as we strike first and don't give him the chance to draw his sword, it's truly possible to severely wound or even kill him."

"Then it's settled. Let's eat and drink our fill, then pack up and show Han Jingyang the true style of our Xipo Village."

"Cheers!"

*Clink—*

Night fell.

Han Jingyang arrived at Xipo Village, leading Shi Xiaoya and Monk Kongyun.

The car drove to the village entrance.

Han Jingyang patted Shi Xiaoya in the driver's seat: "Just park the car here."

"Park here?"

"Yes."

"Are you worried..."

"Intuition."

Shi Xiaoya didn't ask further. She turned the car around and parked it so that in case of an emergency, they could just hop in and drive away from the village without needing to turn around.

The three of them got out of the car.

Monk Kongyun struck his Buddhist staff heavily on the ground, closed his eyes to sense carefully, and sighed after a moment: "There is indeed a problem. This Xipo Village is filled with a gloomy yin aura and flickering ghostly shadows. It is truly terrifying, like the legendary hell on earth."

Han Jingyang glanced around and chuckled: "I'll give you a buff."

With that, he activated the Manifestation of Holiness attribute.

As the attribute activated, Shi Xiaoya jumped behind Han Jingyang with a start: "Oh my god, ghosts!"

Monk Kongyun was also startled, but he forced himself not to retreat. Instead, he struck his staff again and chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Amitabha—"

However, Monk Kongyun's prayer was of no use.

The various types of "ghosts" surrounding the three of them just stared at them coldly.

There was a hunched old man.

An old woman leaning on a cane.

A young woman holding a child.

A pregnant woman with a large belly.

A middle-aged man missing an arm.

And a young man whose head drooped to one side.

There were even children of various ages.

Dozens of them, packed together, blocked the village entrance, staring at the three of them with eyes devoid of any emotion.

Clearly, there were many lights still on in the village, and the streetlights along the road were quite bright. In the distance, villagers were playing basketball on a plaza, and farmers returning late were leading cattle back. It was clearly a scene full of life, yet Monk Kongyun and Shi Xiaoya were so terrified their hair stood on end.

This scene, where warmth and gloom were interwoven, coexisting in the same place without interfering with each other, was truly frightening.

Han Jingyang, of course, wasn't that afraid. He could see more clearly than Shi Xiaoya and Monk Kongyun, and having encountered such things before, he knew their nature.

It was just that the scene itself was too scary. Even knowing there was no danger, one would instinctively feel psychological and physiological discomfort.

He had to find a way to drive them away.

Otherwise, it would be too unbearable.

Being watched by a crowd like this while doing anything would make his skin crawl.

How could he drive them all away?